Bits and Pieces of Me

Project Speech 10 - Delivered at my home club during chapter meeting. For a 'graduation' project, it was successful as an account of my toastmaster's path. However, as a speech that is inspiring, it fell short of its objective. That is the greatest regret in my journey towards Competent Communicator.

September 19 is a very significant day in history. In the year 1985 on this very day, an 8.1 scale earthquake shook Mexico and caused the death of 12 thousand people and another 40 thousand injured. In the year 2006 on the every same day, the Thai military staged a coup in Bangkok, and caused a political change that shook the whole nation. In the year 2011, September 19, a clueless lady walked through that door and participated in a Toastmaster event that eventually changed her life. That clueless lady, is me. Yep, it is not earth shattering like an earthquake, neither is it an international incident that shakes the nation; but it is still just as significant to me because that day, I  made the decision to sign up for the membership and became a toastmaster of this club.

One year hence (actually 2 days short of one year), I stand before you, a changed person after going through 9 speeches. Tonight, my fellow toastmasters and guests, on the occasion of my 10^th and last speech for the Competent Communicator manual, I would like to take a moment to share with you this amazing journey and some of the most memorable experiences I gain through the past one year. And I hope my sharing tonight will inspire you to join me in this toastmasters' journey.

We are all here for a purpose, and my purpose from day one was quite clear to me – to learn how to speak in front of an audience and eventually become a polished speaker. I knew that the Toastmaster program is a series of speeches with increasing difficulty to help us achieve our goal in a gradual and structured manner. And so, my first memorable experience was the most difficult task of actually preparing for these speeches.

Now, it is not like I have not speak in front of an audience before, I do presentations at work all the time, but, presentations to me is routine, I simply have to read out whatever that is written on the slides and I absolutely do not care if you listen to it at all, it might even be better if you sleep through it. That would mean no questions for me J. However, these Toastmaster speeches are a totally new ball game. How do you expect me to speak for 5 mins without slides or notes or any materials? I am not naturally a chatty person and I can’t just rattle off like that! I don’t think fast enough on my feet so surviving on only a few random thoughts in my head is absolutely not going to last me 5 long mins! And so it started, whenever I have to deliver a speech the next day, the night before is the most agonizing! I have to, absolutely have to type out my speech word for word, yes word for word! It is hardwork for me as it is something that I would naturally do. I don’t keep a diary, I can’t even get the grammar right in a sentence, and now I have to write out a full speech? And that, is not the worst part! 

The worst part is when I switched on the computer, opened a fresh word document, and… nothing happened! Many a times, I simply do not know what to say in my speeches! Oohh… to come up with the content of the speeches was an agonizing experience! Now for P1 – the ice breaker, it is relatively easy, you are supposed to talk about yourself so I shared about my childhood love for fantasies. The topic is given, problem solved, quite easily done. But, when I came to P2, that’s where I made the first mistake. I used a technical subject – the personality profiling tool – for my speech, and that was a disaster! With no slides to help me and too much content, the audience simply could not follow me! Lesson learnt – keep it light with manageable content delivered in simple terms. So, from P3 onwards, I decided to change strategy and talk about things and events that happened in my life, thinking that it would also help me to better memorize it, afterall those events did really happened to me. Sounds like a good plan, except that, I am usually a very private person, not someone that would tell my life stories to just anyone easily. However, somehow, as though I was spellbound, every one of my subsequent speech is a bit of me that is shared and left behind. In P3 and P9 the topics are related to my 2 lovely dogs whom I held so dearly. For P4 and P6, I shared about my travel experiences to the nearby countries, something that I enjoyed doing very much. When I delivered my P5, my choir just had a successful full house performance at the art house and that became the topic of my speech.  Ah, when I did my P8 and P9, it was simply great fun. I finally get to use presentation slides! But by now I was already a total convert. Sticking to my winning formula of sharing personal anecdotes rather than technical stuff, I decided to share my photography experience, and I get to show-off some of my best photos.  As I looked back at those stuff that I shared, I have no regrets. It has been great fun sharing a bit of me and left behind a trail of beautiful memories.

My toils and sweat while writing out the speeches eventually paid off. They turned into many 5 glorious minutes for me, knowing that I did my best and delivered the speech as it was intended, with my heart and soul. The satisfaction and sense of achievement is absolute, not to mention the adrenaline rush that I get everything standing at this very spot, battled my own nervousness. 

Yes, adrenaline, ladies and gentlemen, forget bungee jumping or sky diving if you are the kind that goes for the occasional adrenaline boost. Come to toastmasters and start delivering your speech, and every time without fail, I felt my legs are turning into jellies and my tummy’s full of wide butterflies! Someone measure my blood pressure now, it has probably shot through the roof! In my honest opinion, the toastmasters program expects a superman out of each of us.. imagine having to curb our urge to dash out of the door, we still have to ensure the right body language with right gestures and facial expressions, and the clear eye contact for every.. one.. in the room. That’s not all, you also have to pepper your speech with pauses, weird rhetorical devices such as “Onomatopoeia” and ensure the right volume. Hey, there are some people that simply could not multitask! But, look at me now… not that I have mastered all these, but I am now more conscious of what I say, how I say it and definitely the impact of my speech. Now, if anyone sleeps at my presentations at work, they had better watch out. I am more conscious of my audience responses and I adjust my words and mannerism accordingly. Absolutely no one, can deny that the toastmaster’s training has transformed me from a clueless lady and a stronger speaker. Truly, this has been the greatest benefit to me so far. 

So ladies and gentlemen, we are all going through this amazing journey together and I believe each of us will benefit in various ways. I for one, will certainly continue to work at it, for I can see all the good that happened to me so far. Now that I am already in this program, I am certainly going to get the best out of it, and so should you! Start your own toastmaster’s journey today, and I can bet you, you will not regret it.  In the words of my beloved friend and mentor, Carolyn, she once said to me “my dear, this, is only the beginning.”

Thank you, TME.

My Second Pair of Eyes

Project Speech 8 - Using Visual Aids. This project was delivered on the occasion of the a club's humorous and evaluation contest, as a test speaker. The experience of having 5 evaluation (4 from contestants and 1 from silent evaluator) was simply refreshing, especially when you hear differing opinions  of the contestants. This is certainly the true spirit of the toastmasters program - evaluations that reflects the evaluators' personal views that are sincerely presented for the benefit of the speaker. All photos are copyright to the author.

Contest chair, distinguished guests and fellow toastmasters, a very good evening to one and all. Recently I acquired a second pair of eyes and an extended brain. What? You might say, did I do an eye surgery or something? And did I get myself into an accident and crashed part of my brain? No, no, nothing that exciting and sensational. I simply bought a Camera (prop), a Digital single lens reflex camera, DSLR for short.These are typically used by professional photographers. Now, how is this thing my second pair of eyes and an extended brain? Tonight, ladies and gentlemen, allow me to show you the magic of photography!
 
A camera is gadget that operates similarly to our human eye. It makes photos just like how we human eyes capture images around us. Take a look at this diagram 

Source: Pasadena Eye Associates, http://www.pasadenaeye.com/faq/faq15/faq15_text.html

This is a camera (point) and this is a drawing of a human eye (point). When we want to take a picture, we press this button, and this opens the shutter, very much like us opening our eyes. Light from the object enters through our pupil (in the camera's case - the aperture) and our brain begin to see the image as it was formed on the retina, similar to the camera film in the past and of cos the memory card in the modern digital format. When we release the button, we shut the eye again, and the image is being blocked out. So isn’t this wonderful gadget my second pair of eyes or what?
 
And how does this gadget become my extended brain? It is because the photos that I took at that point in time are saved in the memory card or subsequently in the computer me allow me to store it forever! Well, not forever, but certainly longer than my leaky memory could last. Sometime down the road, when I needed to recall a place, a time or an event, all I have to do is to check my photos and it would trigger the memories of that wonderful moment. So, this gadget helps to create an external hard disk of the most precious memories in my life. And it is precisely for this reason that I took up photography in the first place – to capture the fleeting moments in our lives.
 
About one year ago I picked up photography, and decided to take this hobby seriously so armed with my newest camera I joined my first basic photography course to learn how to operate this thing and of course, how to take a good picture. I found out this second part of eyes can do certain things better than my original pair of eyes!  There are camera tricks that I can perform with ease.
 
For example, in camera, we can set the depth of field to make your picture looks either crystal clear or in a state of dream. Let’s take a look at this first example – this is a stock of flower taken in Bangkok Thailand before I took up photography class.

This is a very clear picture with everything in focus, the flower in the foreground, the pagoda in the background and everything else as well. It is a well-take picture, for my very first attempt at taking flowers. I was quite pleased and was patting myself on the shoulders. However, after taking photography class and got more exposed to what a camera can do, I realized that this is actually a very boring picture! It is nice, but not fantastic for it has no specific selling point. Everything in this picture is screaming for your attention – The flower, the pagoda and even the green textured roof! So how can I improve this picture? First, I have to decide what is the focus, what exactly do I want people to see – the flower, so everything else is not important, so I somehow have to make the rest disappear! The way to do this is to change the depth of field by adjusting the aperture, represented by a F-number in the camera. The aperture is essentially the hole at which light travel (point to lens), and as we explain a min ago it is very similar to the pupil in our human eye. When you reduce the F-number, it allows less light to come in, and therefore, creating an image that focus only on the subject that you wanted people to see. This (picture) is the final result - an example of having only one area being in focus. 

This is a stalk of flower taken in the Singapore Garden Festival held last months, but really it does not matter where, it is this particular heart of flower that matters for this picture. Magical isn’t it? The camera created this flower in a dreamy state and froze it in the moment, to be captured on film.
 
The second camera trick I can perform with this gadget is to capture more than one thing at a time! This is a fantastic feature that our human eye cannot do. You know how we always say that we cannot turn back time? Certainly we can’t, but we can capture time using the camera. Take a look at this fireworks photo, I took this during last month's NDP. 

It captures one burst of fireworks, which is great. I am very pleased with myself. However, consider this. What if I can capture more than one burst of fireworks? Our human eye can only see what is presented to us at that moment and never anything prior or anything after. Therefore we have to rely on our leaky memory to remember what we saw during the entire session. But hey, guess what, the camera can do this for you... Like this! 

This picture is taken during the previous year NDP and it captures a total of four bursts of fireworks. Isn't that a neat trick? How do i do that you might ask, well, with a use of a black card (demo) and wallah! You got each moment captured at precisely the right moment on the same image!  So you see, there is no need to rely entirely on our own memories, the photos will serve as extended memories to us to capture the whole splendor of the fireworks display.
 
Ladies and gentlemen, there are many more tricks I can do with the camera, and I am barely starting out. So far I have been very pleased with this second pair of eyes and extended memory, something which I will certainly exploit further. As Eudora Welty, the award-winning American author in the 19 century said "A good snapshot keeps a moment from running away". That is exactly what I wanted to do, and I hope you would join me to pick up this pair of eyes to capture the beautiful moments in our lives.
 
Thank you. Contest Chair.

Stopping Time

Project Speech 7 - Research Your Topic. Delivered at the project clinic using iPad to show the pictures, effective only in a small group and not at formal chapter meeting due to the limitation of the iPad. The objective is to demonstrate the joy of photography through quotations, examples and illustrations taken from various sources. All photos are copyright to the author. 

My fellow toastmasters, if, you have a fairy godmother and tonight, if you are granted one wish, any wish under the sun, what will you wish for? Ladies and gentlemen, if I have that one wish, I would like to ask for the power to stop time! Anyone watched X Men 2 the movie? In the movie Prof X stopped time and caused all the people to freeze in that moment. I would like to have that power, to stop time in its track and freeze everything around me. But for what purpose? Certainly not to conquer the world.. But to capture the most beautiful moment for just a second longer! Guess what? I do have that power you know... Through the use of a camera!
 
One and a half years ago I picked up photography, and decided to take this hobby seriously.  I bought my first Canon DSLR, and took my first basic photography course to learn the foundations of taking a good picture. Taking photos you might say, is such a unless hobby, after all, what good does it do to keep all those pictures? Ah, but little do you know, the job as a professional photographer is gaining popularity in many parts of the world. Take United States for example, a study conducted in July this year by the bureau of statistics showed that the profession  is projected to grow by 13 percent from 2010 to 2020, about as fast as the average for all occupations. So you see, being a photographer does pay! However, my motivation to take up photography is not about making money, but to stop time and capture those beautiful things that I see onto a digital format, my extended memory.
 
The first thing that I would like to take photos of is the beautiful landscape and scenery that I came across when I travel.  I remember when I traveled to Greece last year, I came across a great place of rocks in the air – the Meteora. It is one of the most extraordinary places in the world.  

As you can see, it is a series of sandstone rocks rise from the surrounding plain like tall lumps of clay on a potter’s wheel, as though waiting to be mould. Today the Holy Monastery of Great Meteora  is the largest of the monasteries built on top of Metéora, amidst the vertical rock faces. 

The picture showed the sheer magnificence of the building and the natural landscape around it and Wow! Isn’t it mind-blowing? There are many other great wonders of the world that I would love to capture, as such the Great Wall of China, the Great Pyramid of Giza and the Halong Bay in Vietnam. The ability to capture these sites at its best and most grand in my pictures became my first motivation to take up photography.
 
Besides taking landscape pictures, my next photo target is people, portraits. I always have an inquisitive mind, and when I was young, I used to look at an aunty or an uncle, their expressions and wondered what they are thinking, what kind of lives they lead and what their characters are like.. for I am sure, each and every one of the people that I met in my life has such rich life stories to tell and experience to share. Well, my curiosity is never really satisfied but extended by the use of photography. Take this man for example, on his weather beaten face you can see the lines on his forehead, the deep set eyes staring ahead, the unshaven face. Such strong features created an aura of mystery, strength and character. Plain t shirt and faded jeans all added to this image.

That is the power of photography, it tells you much more than you actually see on the surface, so long as you care to look in detail and let the photo guide your imagination. Not all photos of my subjects are mysterious and dark, I capture moments of innocence too - this picture is the best that I have taken so far, for children are notoriously difficult to photograph.  See the childlike delight in this little girl's face and feel the happiness that she felt at that moment? If I am the child's mother I would be so totally moved by this picture. All this made possible only by stopping time through photography.

  What else would I like to take pictures of? Well, something that we do every day, every few hours in fact! Food... Since eating is Singaporean's national past time.  According to the popular history of photography, food photography used to be restricted to its commercial values, where you see pictures of dishes used in restaurants menus and sign boards. However nowadays taking photos of food is becoming a fashion trend, and you can even see youngsters doing it, and the next thing you know, they are posted on Facebook. A dish can be made to look as plain or as delicious, all depends on how you take the picture. For example, the old fashion way is to take the picture from above, as is. This is a good example.

 Can you see what dish is it? Not only is it plainly and badly taken, the picture is also too overexposed to figure out what it actually is. However, if you would change the angle, and take care to capture the light and colour of a particular dish, it can be so vivid and clear that it looks simply fantastic! Just like this picture. 

Don't you think that it looks delicious? Let you in on a secret, this is a part of a birthday cake and it is really too sweet for my taste. So you see yet again the power of photography? Nowadays I take only pictures of good food to remember a gastronomically good time, or savor a dish once again... even if it is only on the iPad.
 
So ladies and gentlemen, landscape, people and food. These are the three things that motivated me to take up photography. As Eudora Welty, the award-winning American author in the 19 century said "A good snapshot keeps a moment from running away". That is exactly what I wanted to do, and I hope you will join me one day, to stop time, in our lives, from running away.
 
Thank you.

Will You Take Me Home?

6000 – that is the number of stray dogs that have been put to sleep each year, statistics from the ministry of national development.
250 – that is the number of unwanted dogs that SPCA received and about half of them are abandoned
$500 to $2000 – that’s the cost of buying a dog
$0 – that’s the cost of adopting one
 
President, Toastmasters, and guests, these are the staggering statistics that we see today with regards to the Local stray dog scene. Due to the sheer number of stray dogs that we faced today, increasing efforts are needed to house them and sometimes, even to put them to sleep.
 
Non-profitable organizations have sprung up over the years by kind souls to help cope with the situation. Noah’s ark is one of them. It was set up by Raymund Wee in 1995 as an animal shelter for dogs, cats and even horses, to care for those that are sick, injured and abandoned. The Action for Singapore Dogs (ASD) was established in December 2000 to improve the welfare of stray and abandoned dogs in Singapore. And there is SPCA … These are the few prominent organizations that are working quietly but diligently to help with the situation.
 
Now the government and organizations are doing their parts to cope with the stray dogs situation, what can we as individuals do to help? I say- one dog at a time!  But how? Allow me to share with you my personal experience as an example. I have 2 dogs, one which I bought from a pet shop and another adopted. I bought my first dog because of love at first sight. This I shared during my P2 project, and of cos, out of ignorance for current issue that we faced in Singapore. After being more exposed to dogs, dog care and also the local dog-owner community, I came to realize the problem and that the right way is to adopt rather than buy. As such my second dog, that is adopted from an accidental litter of 8.
 
10 years have I lived and cared for my beloved dogs. Yes, to be a responsible dog owner is hard work - ensuring that they are well fed with lots of exercises so as to maintain good health. Every night I need to ensure I reach home in time to feed them, their one and only meal in a day. Each night, I diligently wash the toilet as they are house trained. Each night, I bring them out for a walk for fresh air and exercise. If I need to travel I need to find someone to replace me and my duties for each day. Isn’t it hard work? All these pain and toils, is it worth it? If I have another chance to choose, will I still choose to be a dog owner? The answer is YES! for all 3 questions.
 
Why am I still so convicted after 10 years of hard labour? Precisely because dogs are Man’s Best Friend. They are my best friend, they are my pride and joy, and I cannot live without them.  Every night I open the door to 2 smiley faces, crazy with joy of my return. Every night, I get the chance to cuddle 2 very obliging warm bodies, knowing that everything is alright with them around. Every time I feel sad for whatever reason, they are the ones that will come and console me.  Even time when I am upset with them for messing up the house, I can never stay angry for long when I stared into their pearly innocent eyes.  It looks as though my dogs are dependent on me for all their needs, but I know, deep down in my heart, I depended on them emotionally as much as they depended on me physically.
 
If dogs are so wonderful, why are there so many of them being abandoned? Ah… but we humans have souls that are dark and unpredictable… well, I believe that is just one of the reason. Most of the time owners buy dogs without thinking far ahead and understanding the full commitment.  Some buy them for birthday gifts, especially for their children, and yet others buy them purely for their cuteness. Needless to say, after a while the novelty wears off and the  once cute puppy became a naughty and destructible monster around the house. They became a burden to the whole family and are no longer wanted.
 
With  a little education, research and knowledge on how to correctly take care of the dogs and train them well, they will add immense joy into your life. They will be the only family member that remain loyal to you all their life, and certainly the only ones that would never talk back in any argument. Truly, till death do they part from you. Very soon your heart will be filled with love for this tiny ones and you will realise that having another small delicate animal in your life is a most wonderful thing!
 
Even then, why buy? Please – adopt! There are so many wonderful puppies, currently being housed in SPCA, Noah’s Ark and ASD. These dogs are no less perfect or cuter than those sold in the shops. They give you the same undivided love and attention and they promise a life time of devotion. What's most important is that it practically cost you nothing to adopt them, as compared to buying a so called pure bred from pet shops.
 
Are you convinced? Will you adopt a dog and share your life with it?  Let me give my plea a final push by sharing excerpts from this touching poem with you:
 
Will You Take Me Home – Credit - taken from a pet forum by a person named Laura.
 
I am a stray, out on the street,
Trying so hard not to get beat!
I often have to fight to stay alive,
It is a struggle, just to survive.
 
I am so alone out here, so tired and cold
This was not how, I was supposed to grow old!
No one comes to give me food,
It's not nice here, in my neighborhood.
 
I don't know what happened! Or why I am here!
What happened to my people that use to hold me so dear?
Now I am so alone and tired and cold,
Is this how I am going to grow old?
 
Could someone just stop from a busy day?
One kind word could someone say?
To a animal so scared and alone?
And perhaps find me a place in your home?
 
Ladies and gentlemen, tonight, if this poem touches you a wee bit, please say yes to adopting a dog.
 
Thank you. TME. 

This is delivered as a P9 speech in the Toastmaster's Exco Meeting. Was not in tip top condition when it was delivered, and it is the first time I did not rehearse and time my speech before the actual delivery, as a result, I missed the chance to recite the poem, thinking that I do not have enough time, when the whole speech lasted on 6 min 30 secs. This proved that rehearsing is absolutely important to ensure a good delivery!

PS: all information on the organisations are taken from the respective website. Special credit given to the especially moving poem written by Laura.